
Nearly half of Americans have never heard of health-threatening PFAS “forever chemicals,” a new survey has found. PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a category of thousands of manufactured chemicals that have become an emerging concern to environmental and human health, researchers from Texas A&M University said. Nonetheless, 45% of survey participants had never heard of PFAS and did not know what they are, according to findings published Nov. 16 in the journal PLOS One. “This is the first survey of its kind, and what we found is that the vast majority of people do not have a clear understanding of PFAS,” said lead researcher Allen Berthold, interim director of the university’s Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI). PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they combine carbon and fluorine molecules, one of the strongest chemical bonds possible, researchers explained. This makes PFAS removal and breakdown very difficult. PFAS compounds have been used in consumer products since the 1940s, including fire extinguishing foam, nonstick cookware and food wrappers, researchers said. PFAS also has been detected in food and water supplies. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that at least 45% of the nation’s tap water contains one or more PFAS chemicals, and in March the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a national standard for PFAS in drinking water. “Research has come out in the last year showing that many… read on > read on >